Making Changes

How do you feel about change? Do you embrace it, ready to do something new and different? Or do you resist it, preferring the old and familiar?

The library is currently going through its biggest change in years--switching over to a new software system that handles all our library business. As you can imagine, we're a bit ambivalent about this. It means giving up a system to which we've become accustomed and learning a new, unfamiliar system. As a patron, you will also notice changes with our catalog and due dates for library items, among other changes.

We've all had to deal with change in our lives at one point or another, whether it's starting a new school, moving to a new town, or switching jobs. Some changes are easier than others, but there are books available to help us adapt:

• Small Move, Big Change by Caroline Arnold  Shows you how to make a big change in your life by focusing on smaller achievements, the "microresolutions" that add up to that big change.
• Life is In the Transitions by Bruce Feiler  Offers suggestions on how to give up an old mindset and find new strategies to cope with change.
• Tiny Habits by B.J. Fogg  Demonstrates how change can be easy and even fun when done in small steps (various exercises are included).
• Switch by Chip and Dan Heath  Through examples, shows how we can unite our rational mind (the part wanting change) with our emotional mind (the part resisting change) to make a transformation.
• Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson  Gives insight into how to deal with change using a short parable about 4 mice looking for "cheese" (what they want in life) by going through a "maze" (where they look for what they want). 

Sometimes change comes smoothly and sometimes it doesn't. If the change in our software system comes with a few bumps along the way, please bear with us as we're still adjusting. And of course, should you have questions, whether it's about our new system or anything else, feel free to ask us.

Wishing you positive future changes from the perch.